A Ring of Silver
by DreamwebSpinner
Summary: While working late at the shop, Will finds himself thinking about a certain someone...
1. Whispers in the Night

A Ring of Silver

By DreamwebSpinner

Disclaimer: It's not my box, but I can't resist the feel of the sand between my toes. -_-

Author's Note: I know that blacksmiths don't really work with silver, but hey, it's my story, even if it isn't my sandbox.  R&R or take a long walk off a short plank.

Delicate vines of silver curled themselves around the blood-red stone, surrounding and securing it into the ring.  Will stepped away from the worktable, his complete focus on the little circlet.  His eyes traced over the leaves, the branches…this was his masterpiece, the greatest work he would ever accomplish with metal.  A slight tremor ran through him as he noticed a dent – could his devotion to the project have failed? – but it was only a trick of the light, a shadow thrown by the wavering candle as it burned the last inch of it's wick.

He sighed; it was perfect.  A perfect ring for a perfect woman.  His woman.  Will's gaze left the silver band and traveled up, through the open window, seeking the stately house that held his beloved.  No flickering lights burned in the rooms of the mansion, and Will's mind crafted an image of what must be going on inside.  His darling, his Elizabeth, would be asleep by now; the gleaming moon was high in its celestial path.  The heavy covers of her bed were thrown back somewhat, and Will let his imagination travel along the curve of her arm, tracing the statuesque flow of her hand as it rested on the coverlet.  Soon that hand would hold his ring upon its finger; he himself would place it there.

Theo, a mild-tempered donkey, gave a light groan.  He had been harnessed to the gears all day, and it was late.  He pawed at the thick wooden floors, hoping the scraping noise would be enough to break his master from his apparent reverie.

It was.  Will gave a start, and turned towards the beast with surprise.  "I'm sorry, boy!" he exclaimed, striding across the gloomy space.  The creature snorted again, tossing its head.  Will pulled the iron pegs, and led the ass over to a stall in the back of the shop.  Before long, the only sound Theo was making was to crunch on a carrot.

Will leaned on the edge of the stall, his coffee-brown eyes sliding out of focus as he gazed at the donkey.

"I'll bet you don't know what it's like.  Loving someone."

_Crunch, crunch._

"It's wonderful."  Will pushed himself back from the wooden half-wall.  "It's consuming.  It's desperate and fulfilling all at once."  He wandered through the shop, barely listening to himself, picking up various tools only to set them down again.  "It's passionate."  He remembered the feel of her caramel-and-toffee hair against his face.  "It's soft.  Like a whisper.  It's silky and it curls.  It's…sensuous."  His fingers stroked through the empty air, burying his hands in fantasy.  "I could play in it forever."

She'd teased him terribly with that hair.  Vivid half-memories filled his head:  A few stolen hours, a few stolen kisses.  Sunlight picking it's way through the thick leaves.  Peaches.  He'd barely eaten anything; it had been enough just to watch her.  Her eyes.  Darker than his, and ringed with amazingly long lashes…

_"Lie down, Will."_

_"I can't."_

_"You've been working so hard lately; I've seen you."_

_"It's not work to me.  It's life."_

_"So take a rest from life!  Lie down, relax.  You're so fidgety!"_

_"I'm not."   _He was.  Being so close to her, only a few feet away…her presence smoldered against his skin.  _"I'm fine."_

_ "Please?"   _Those eyes again.  He sighed and gave in, letting the grass tickle the back of his neck.  The sunwarmth was comforting and gentle.  It played tag with the shadows on his face until his eyelids closed out the world.  He didn't know how long he slept, only how he was awakened.  A soft brushing against his face, and a murmur of content.  When his vision cleared, the only sight to be seen were honey-brown curls.  He raised his head as well as he could; there was a weight on his chest.  Beyond his view of the ringlets…

_"Oh, Elizabeth."   _The words escaped him in a low moan.  A satin corset was laid at the base of an oak, along with a pair of slippers.  Will slid sideways along the grass, pulling himself along with his arms until he could rise to his knees.  Elizabeth stayed where she was, asleep on the soft ground, her hair unbound and flowing like a cape about her shoulders.  _"This will never do."  _What if someone saw them?  Will knew exactly what would be thought…__

_"Wake up."  _He placed his hand as lightly as he could on her shoulder.  Much as he hated to do it, her sleep would have to be disturbed.  She was dressed, to be sure, but hardly in the ways appropriate to her station.  He couldn't bear to have her reputation destroyed.  _"Wake up."_

Her eyes fluttered open.  _"I'm awake, Will."_

_"Thank goodness!"   _He sat back, resting his head on his arms.

_"Why?"  _Why did she have to look so lovable just now?

_"You're…um…"_ he searched for the right words.  _"You're not dressed!"_

Her laughter rang out, climbing the trees and scampering around the bushes.  _"Of course not!  Would _you_ like to be caged in a contraption like that?"_ she gestured towards the corset.  _"It's awful!  I couldn't breath, that's all."_

_"Oh."_

_"Why?"_ she asked again, leaning towards him.  _"Is there some reason I should be…worried?"_

Her voice had lowered.  Will was caught in it, the risings and fallings of the tones, the deceptive innocence._  "Perhaps."_

_ "Really?" _she arched an eyebrow.  _"About what?"_

_ "This."  _It wasn't as though his answer had even been heard.  His mouth was too closely pressed against hers to allow any sounds to escape.  All that were made from her, he swallowed.  He was diving, pressing deeper into a cavern where he knew treasure existed, if only he could kiss her farther, stronger, lavishly.

"It's clear and bright."

_Crunch, crunch._

"It sparkles and invites and draws you in so you can never escape.  And you're happy to have it stay that way."  He pushed open the door to his chambers and sat down heavily upon the cot.  "It lessens yourself until all that exists is her."  His hands moved of their own accord, loosening each of the buttons on his shirt and pulling it off.  "It's protective and careful and full of restraint."  He fell back on his bed, staring at the dusky ceiling.  "It's wild abandon."

A long while passed.  He listened to the donkey, and the wind outdoors.  "It's life-changing."

Will slipped into a lover's dream.

You like?  Yes?  No?  It sucked?  Tell me!  I was thinking of writing another, maybe from Elizabeth's perspective.  But I absolutely refuse to write any more unless you give me a cookie!


	2. Lights in the Darkness

A Ring of Silver

By DreamwebSpinner

Disclaimer: It's not my box, but I can't resist the feel of sand between my toes. -_-

Author's Note: Alright, I got my cookies so I'm all set!  *sigh*  Could use some more of those Marks n' Spencer chocolate chip, though…. -_-

Elizabeth's hand traced a figure eight on the bedspread until the pattern was burned into her brain.  She was having a harder time than usual drifting to sleep tonight.  She'd tried her best to relax, to let her mind wander, but it was inevitable as to where it would go.  The mere knowledge of what she would end up thinking about kept her eyes wide open, staring at the darkness.  William occupied her attention constantly now.  

She hadn't thought it was possible to eat, drink, and breath a human being, but she'd been wrong.  Every time she turned around, her unconscious was longing for him to be there.  A living image of him was perpetually in her vision: smiling sometimes, devoted at others, his eyes boring into her own with a passion so strong she could hardly breath.  It was his eyes that were her undoing.  She'd always prided herself on being entirely unaffected by the attentions of her suitors, but one glance into William's chestnut-brown eyes rendered her completely tongue-tied and flushed.

He knew it, too.  Elizabeth couldn't look up at dinner or in the parlor without meeting his gaze, which was always fixed upon her face.  When he'd left the house that evening, they had stood for an entire ten minutes at the door before a word was spoken.  She'd had no words to say, though plenty had filled her head as she'd stared at him, moon-washed and mesmerizing.  _God-like_ certainly did.  So did _gorgeous_ and _seductive_.

He'd said something about having a nice time, and she'd responded along a similar vein.  _I couldn't have had a more captivating, rapturous time_ was what she had meant to say, but somehow it hadn't come out right.  But then he'd smiled, casting his spell, and she knew he'd understood.

Their good-bye kiss was soft and chaste; it would never do to get carried away with her maid just inside and her father home.  Still, the brief touching of their mouths had sent electric sparks running through her body.  She'd shivered, and in a wave of protectiveness, he'd removed his cloak to wrap it around her shoulders.  She'd tried to explain, to politely decline, but his hands did not leave their place at the base of her neck, and all her brain could form was _would you kiss me again?___

She hadn't meant to say it aloud, and perhaps she actually hadn't, but either way, he heard.  One of his hands skimmed down her arm to clasp around her fingers, and Elizabeth found herself being drawn slowly, oh-so-slowly, down the front steps.

How they'd ended up in the glade she couldn't remember; her eyes never left his.  But when she finally looked about her, there wasn't a light to be seen from the house.  He'd taken advantage of her temporary inattention, sliding his hand out of hers and placing it instead about her waist.  The close contact had made her spin back around in surprise, but she hadn't had the chance to speak.  His kiss was insistent, desirous, and opened the gates of her soul.  An unnamed passion swelled inside of her, and she felt her body returning the kiss with an almost wild intensity.  Her arms cradled his face; her fingers tangled in his raven curls.  His arms around her felt as strong as the iron he shaped.  She was flying, then falling…if she could be pressed any closer to him than she already was, they would cease to be two people.

Elizabeth's sigh filled the silent room.  _Why_ couldn't she sleep?  Throwing back the covers, she swung her legs around to sit up on the bed and felt through the darkness for her slippers.  She crossed her arms to shield her body from the chilly air, and stepped quietly across the room.  The window catch stuck, but she managed to unlatch it with minimum noise.  Outside, the moon was high and full, coating the entire town in a silver-slick glaze.  Stars flared and shimmered in their remote orbits, showing off and dancing, but Elizabeth's gaze was drawn to a coinciding flicker in the neighborhood.  The lamps were lit at the blacksmith's forge.

As she stood and watched the distant glow, comfort washed over her.  Somehow, knowing where he was brought peace, like a gentle rain.  She turned and went back to her bed, leaving the window as it was.  The bed seemed softer, refreshing.  If she turned her head, she could see the lone light in the town, glittering and convincing and cajoling her eyes to close.

Layers of enchanted dreams lulled Elizabeth to sleep.


End file.
